Unfathomable Arrogance

You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well this one just has to be seen to be believed. It speaks far more elequently than I ever could.

I haven’t talked about it much, but Ohio is one of the states that’s currently having a huge brouhaha over teaching intelligent design. The state board of education has introduced lesson plans to teach intelligent design. There was much discussion on repealing this decision (especially in light of what happened in Dover), but in recent meetings, the board narrowly voted (9-8) to not revisit that decision.

Now an amazing picture came out of this meeting.

Richard E. Baker, a member of the State Board of Education, displays his apparent lack of interest in arguments for changing the state’s science standards being put forth by fellow board member Martha W. Wise. Baker, who later voted to maintain the current standards, did not speak during yesterday’s afternoon session, choosing instead to read the newspaper throughout.

Robert E. Baker has made his love for the scientific method known before.

Baker accused the scientific community of wasting time debating the plan. “We spend all this malarkey and baloney when 99 percent of all the people who are taught this have nothing to do with the rest of their lives. These scientists, they don’t care about wasting their own time or anybody else’s time. In business we don’t waste time. To me, [the lesson] is not a big deal.” According to Baker, the real reason scientists want to do away with the lesson plan is, as he said to a group of scientists at a board meeting concerning the lesson plan, “[They] think [they] know everything. [They’re] just a bunch of paranoid, egotistical scientists afraid of people finding out [they] don’t know anything.”

I’m just speechless that such stupidity would proudly be on display. I like to think that people are reasonable, and that if someone doesn’t like evolution, I can talk to them and discuss the science (or the religious aspects if that’s what has them concerned). But what can you do when people are so arrogant as to consider reading the paper more important than doing their job on a school board?

Oh, that’s right. You could follow in the ways of Dover and give them an occupation where they’ll have plenty of time to read the paper. Retirement.

Hat tip to Pharyngula on the story. (My first time linking to Pharyngula, I ought to add a strong disclaimer. If you want to see a blog that’s amazing when it comes to discussing science, it’s that. If you want to see a blog with the worst bias towards religion of any kind, it’s that too. I read it for the former.)